You can put a VCA before a modulation input for instance and so make the modulation amount voltage controlled.

For instance when you start a note you might want deeper vibrato that dies off slowly. This can be done by adding a VCA between the vibrato LFO and the FM input of the oscillator and controlling the VCA from the ADSR that you cantrol the volume with as well.

Or in general, it allows you to modulate the modulations, this can give you a more lively sound._________________Jan

In addition to the dynamic modulation that Blue Hell mentions above, which is really important, a VC mix of signals is totally useful, if you have VC resonance in a filter, that's done with a VCA. Counting VCAs that are built into other modules like oscillators, and filters, I probably have 40–50 VCAs in my system

(that said, you can have too many VCAs)_________________Chris Muir
http://www.eardrill.com <– My jobby (more than a hobby, less than a job)

And yes.. there is probably a VCA saturation point.. at some stage.. _________________A Charity Pantomime in aid of Paranoid Schizophrenics descended into chaos yesterday when someone shouted, "He's behind you!"

But anyway, the point is that control signal handling should not be undervalued - often I build patches with just one oscillator and tons of control signals and control modulations and delays and feedbacks and modifiers, and such can sound like an orchestra .. or like mud

I often use VCAs as effects sends to external delays & verbs. Being able to have a delay send controlled by a lfo/envelope/sequencer/random/whathaveyou is really fun._________________Chris Muir
http://www.eardrill.com <– My jobby (more than a hobby, less than a job)

I often use VCAs as effects sends to external delays & verbs. Being able to have a delay send controlled by a lfo/envelope/sequencer/random/whathaveyou is really fun.

Yup, I also use VCAs for mixing delays, reverbs and what have you. Serious fun. _________________A Charity Pantomime in aid of Paranoid Schizophrenics descended into chaos yesterday when someone shouted, "He's behind you!"

oh, of course - it's the same thing as the filter envelope amount knob on a hardwired synth. or [*~] in maxMSP. should've realized but with all this new information, my brain wasn't processing the details.

appreciate the clarification!

so is that the same thing attenuators are used for, albeit with the knobs calibrated in the opposite direction and without the added flexibility of serving as an output stage?

oh, of course - it's the same thing as the filter envelope amount knob on a hardwired synth.

You don't need a VCA to implement a filter envelope amount knob, that's just simple attenuation. Sometimes VCFs have a knob next to the CV frequency input, that would be a filter envelope amount knob, of you've hooked an ADSR there.

But if you want the filter envelope amount to change over time automatically, that's a job for a VCA + modulation source.

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